Economics Is a Science of Time Saving: The First Tentative Model (2016)

Time might be the scarcest resource for every individual. Time saving could be one of a few specific starting points of Economics. According to the new attribute theory that is based on Lancaster’s attribute theory, the paper constructs a linear programming model with an objective function of time saving that is independent of any utility function. Then the demand function of the time saving good can be derived with a programming method, which is different from the parametric and typically non-parametric methods. Because some data was unavailable, the empirical research of this paper cannot directly derive the demand function from the programming model. Thus another method is used to derive the demand function and the predictive power of this function is at least as good as that of the most common econometric models. Further, as a basic human behavior, time saving could be generalized to other fundamental theories of Economics, especially the long-run growth theory. Therefore, in the ultimate meaning, the conclusion is that Economics is a science of how to save time and time saving might be a milestone that will shift Economics towards a modern science.